Where No Doctor has Gone Before
by The Romulan
Summary: Starfleet has a newly discovered enemy: The Doctor. The 15th Doctor is deemed a threat to the current timeline, though he hasn't yet done any major damage. Everything the Federation has worked for and achieved could be destroyed by a single man. But that won't happen, not if the Enterprise H and her "unique" crew have something to say about it.
1. Prologue

"We're sending the _Enterprise_ to the edge of Romulan space, where you'll rendezvous with their flagship, the _Tebok_," the admiral told Lowry, his voice as cool and emotionless as ever. "When you reach it, you'll activate your temporal engine and follow this criminal to the edge of time."

A hundred years ago, no one had dreamed of this. No one had dreamed of reaching a speed of 100 times the speed of light, but they were so close. It was within their grasp, the theoretically impossible was being deemed possible, all because of the new temporal engine breakthrough. It had functioned properly in all the field tests, and now it was time to really stretch the drive's legs. The whole of the Federation, however, was wishing that it could be on better terms; this technology had been developed for the sole purpose of capturing and perhaps killing an inter-dimensional criminal: the Doctor.

There was a legend of a humanoid by the name of "The Traveler", who used, quite simply, the power of his imagination to travel between starships and alter space-time. It was a just a legend, however, a story told to Starfleet children crawling under the covers of their comfortable beds. This "Traveler" had nothing to do with the Doctor, either; the "Traveler" had always been a hero to the Federation.

The admiral set a data pad on the desk, and pushed it toward the rather distracted Lowry. He was completely absorbed in making sure his attention stance was perfect, and didn't notice that he'd been offered any information. He heard the admiral sigh, only vaguely, though. When the admiral spoke, he was finally able to pull Lowry back out of his eagerness for perfection. "At ease, Captain, you've got the _Enterprise_ now, and no one will take her away from you." Really, the admiral had no idea what Lowry was thinking. An imperfect posture of attention while seated wasn't going to take an entire starship away from the new captain.

Lowry let out a breath he had no idea he'd been holding and picked up the pad. On it was a summary of why they were pursuing the "Doctor", just the reasons he already knew, a threat to the timeline, ruining the future of the Federation, ruining the future of the galaxy. Yes, just the reasons ever Starfleet officer was already aware of, probably the reasons the whole _galaxy_ was aware of.

Oh, those were more important reasons than he'd thought...

Lowry's life and timeline as he knew it could quite possibly disappear within the next few weeks, perhaps the next few days. If the timeline were to be altered, he wouldn't be aware of it, of course, but the Federation was in dangerous waters here. Everything they'd worked so hard to build and protect could be destroyed, and it wouldn't be that hard to knock down. This "Doctor" character, he was a threat, and had no respect for the space-time continuum. He thought he could fly about in his fantastic little piece of machinery, touching and contaminating whatever he wanted without consequence. He obviously hadn't caused any major damage yet, but that could all change in the blink of an eye. But they had hope, the _Enterprise._ "Are you finally beginning to understand the importance of this mission?" the admiral asked, his gaze growing intent as he leaned closer to Lowry.

The new captain slumped down in his chair, suddenly not feeling quite up to having the fate of the Federation and perhaps more in his hands. He wasn't about to back out, though; that wasn't quite Lowry's style. After a few moments, he nodded to the admiral, determined to win this battle. "I do understand now, Sir. The _Enterprise_ will get the job done," he promised.

"Good," the admiral said, running a hand through his greying hair. He leaned back in his chair, staring searchingly at Lowry. Honestly, he wasn't sure this adolescent captain was up to the job. He'd never had the best academy grades, he didn't always think every situation completely through, but he was determined. He had a determination that the admiral had never seen in any other cadet, and he knew that Lowry would try. He would try until he won, or until he sent the _Enterprise_ to her doom trying. His faith was not misplaced.

The captain and the admiral stood and shook hands, their gazes locked. The admiral had probably just sent Lowry off on a permanent away mission. And not just Lowry, he'd also sent off the _Enterprise,_ the flagship, her temporal engine, her state-of-the-art warp drive, and a crew of Starfleet's best. Losing the ship would be a heavy blow to Starfleet, and the admiral preferred not to lose anyone to the hands of a criminal.

Once they'd finished the handshake, Lowry turned and headed toward the door, and it had just opened when the admiral stopped him from leaving the office.

"Oh, Utopia Planitia said something about a main computer 'glitch', but they also said it was minor and could be fixed in space. Thought I'd warn you before you found a little something wrong with your brand-new Indomitable class starship. I forget exactly what it was, but again, don't worry, just let your engineer know," he admiral told him.

The captain nodded, giving him a smile. "I'm sure it's nothing, but thanks for the heads-up." He turned to exit once again, when he breathed a sigh and turned back to the admiral. He looked around the room, taking every little detail in, but he said nothing, as if he'd forgotten to do so.

"Something wrong, James?" the admiral questioned, an eyebrow raised.

The captain was once again jerked out of his thoughts by his superior, feeling rather idiotic. "Nothing, sir, I just hope I'll see the headquarters again," he explained. Obviously eager to leave now that he'd appeared rather stupid, he turned on his heel and walked briskly out of the room.

The admiral watched him go, hoping exactly the same thing.


	2. Socializing

Captain Lowry, after waiting for so long to see "beautiful", "state-of-the art" starship, was finally beamed aboard in the late afternoon. He left earth's restricting surface behind him and ventured into the wonders of space and time.

Well, more accurately, he ventured into the _Enterprise, _which was still stuck in space-dock.

There was no one to greet him when he arrived aboard except the transporter chief, who only offered him a simple "Hello, Sir."

Lowry gave the chief a nod and attempted to exit the room, but the door stayed closed in front of him and caused him to make contact with it. He turned to face the chief, a bit irritated that his "brand-new" Vitality class starship had already malfunctioned. "'Computer glitch?'" he asked, his face quickly turning a bright shade of red.

The chief seemed to shrink back behind the console, even though the minor incident obviously wasn't his fault. "Y-yes, sir, I believe so, sir," he replied nervously. After he finished the rather vague sentence, he dropped his gaze to the panel and refused to look back up at the captain.

Lowry shook his head at the man, the shy man that held the rank of lieutenant commander. He directed his attention back to the door, took a step back, took a step forward, and, much to his relief, the door finally opened. He stepped through it and into the corridor, taking in the scents of fresh…well, everything. Everything about this ship was fresh. He was honoured to captain the _Enterprise, _which had been the flagship of the Federation for several generations. Really, he didn't deserve her; he'd only been the rank of captain for seven years, there were far more experienced officers to take his place.

The flooring of the corridor was smooth and white with blue trim, and every 300 feet a com panel had been placed on the wall. The corridors were dimly lit with glowing blue lights that ran horizontally through the middle of the walls and at the bases of them. It was very possible to see, of course, they didn't want people tripping over things on their way to different parts of the ship.

Lowry, at this particular instance, was on his way to the bridge. He figured he should check it out before they actually left space-dock, or at least be on the bridge when they left. Last he'd heard, they were an hour away from departure, which meant he had time to take a look at the holodeck, as well.

He saw one or two officers pass him on his way to the bridge, both of them holding the rank of ensign. The ship looked to be nearly empty, but people would start filing on extremely soon. The captain was glad he'd beamed up early; it was probably going to be a mess at the transporters before long.

When he finally reached the bridge of the largest starship ever built, he found it to be completely devoid of any humanoids. The bridge had a certain eeriness to it; it was dimly illuminated as well, but it was brighter than the corridor. With all the energy it took to power the temporal drive, it was necessary to sacrifice some of the illumination. The holodecks were earlier models, as well, and only two hours a day total could be spent on each one of them.

The bridge's view-screen was large and took up the front of the area. The captain's chair was located in the centre of the bridge, as tradition dictated. Its shape was sleek and its colour was very nearly impossible to discern in the darkness. It looked to be a silver…or perhaps it was black? Lowry went with black; after the temporal drive was decommissioned, he'd finally be able to turn the real lights on and figure out just what colour it was. He doubted that the temporal drive would be a permanent addition to the family of scientific equipment now installed aboard starships; the temporal drive used far too much energy to be of any practical use. While it was an amazing breakthrough, their starships simply weren't meant to handle it. In fact, the _Enterprise _hadn't been built with plans of providing her with a temporal drive, but she was a new ship and Starfleet wasn't about to build another just for one man, no matter how dangerous he was. They were a bit low on resources.

One the left side of the captain's chair was located the first officer's chair, and on the right side of the captain's chair, the counselor's chair was located. All three of them had similar shapes, but the counselor and commander's chair were both slightly smaller than the captain's.

The captain's chair was elevated just slightly, and behind it, at the same height, was the tactical station. Even farther behind that and pressed up against the wall were the science stations, six of them, to be exact, readied and waiting to be used.

In front of the view-screen were two consoles, used for helm control. Their edges glowed blue, as did everything else aboard the ship. It was lovely. It was lovely and Lowry was really starting to get sick of it. It was, in fact, possible to overuse a design, but no one seemed to notice or care.

Lowry made his way to the captain's chair and sank down into its texture, immediately becoming worried he would be eaten by it. The chair was much larger than he, and threatened to drag him down to its dark depths. He simply sat there awhile, staring at the blank view screen, wishing they were already gone. After a few minutes of staring, he heard the door of the bridge slide open and someone join him, providing him with unwelcome, but necessary company. After a moment, the newcomer began whistling an ancient, familiar tune as they stood at ops, obviously with no idea the captain was present. He gave them a couple more minutes of whistling before turning to see who it was that stood behind him. The chair only swiveled so far, though, and he had to contort himself rather dramatically to get a clear view of his tactical officer.

His tactical officer was a brown-haired Bajoran who was now cowering in surprise against a science station, her eyes wide. The captain stared back at her with equally wide eyes, wondering what exactly it was that had terrified her so. Eventually, after several awkward seconds of staring at each other, he tilted his head and asked, "Your name is Lieutenant Leira, isn't it?"

The tactical officer swallowed before closing her eyes and giving him a nod. "Yes, sir." She breathed a sigh and straightened up, dusting off her yellow uniform. "I apologize, sir, I thought I was alone." She ran a hand through her hair and directed her attention toward her shiny black boots, as if that would somehow help the moment.

The captain breathed a sigh. Why did every crewmember he came in contact with treat him as if he'd come back from the dead? Granted, he'd only spoken with two of them, but both of them had been incredibly strange. He'd hoped to gain some new friends from this mission, but now he wasn't so sure. "That's fine. I didn't bother to check, do you have an idea of when we're leaving?"

The Bajoran shook her head. "No, I can go find out, though!" She practically leapt over to the door and nearly slammed into it, because the stupid thing had refused to open for the second time that day. Was this the glitch the admiral had mentioned? He said it had been minor, this was certainly minor, but it was rather annoying.

Leira looked at the door in confusion for a moment before taking a few steps backward. With an eyebrow raised, she advanced on the door once again and stepped through, but it stayed open behind her. Not that it mattered, there was no one aboard anyway, and the ship wouldn't be carrying precious cargo on this mission; children and pets were not allowed on the_ Enterprise_ for the time being.

The captain returned his chair to its original position facing the view-screen, and he stared at it some more. A few minutes passed, and he began to feel vibrations underneath his feet. They were getting close…they were getting close and he was getting excited. The new _Enterprise's_ maiden voyage was going to occur under his command…this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he was glad he'd even managed to snag. He just hoped this_ Enterprise's _career wouldn't end in flames, as all the rest of them had.

The _Enterprise _G had been shot down over an M-class planet three years ago under Romulan attack. That had been the turning point in the war, as she was a battle cruiser and had also managed to take down two of their warbirds. Both sides exhausted their resources, which they later discovered had been a part of the Cardassians' plan. The Federation and the Romulans joined forces, discreetly of course, to protect themselves from the Cardassian threat. Now, as if the Cardassians weren't threatening enough, they had this "Doctor" fellow to concern themselves with, as well. At least they had a major ally on their side, but the captain doubted that the Doctor's defeat would be an issue of force.

The vibrations increased to a gentle hum, an indication that Lowry's ship was now up and running. Now that the engineer was aboard, he figured he'd tell him about the obnoxiousness of the doors.

The captain rose from his chair and walked to the door, only to find it slam closed as soon as he set foot in front of it. He took a few steps back, as he'd done before, and then took a few toward the door, but it still did not open. "Honestly? Let me out!" he snapped, even though there was no one about.

"I'm not a glitch," a voice stated coldly, from an unknown location.

Lowry found himself looking around, though he didn't know who he expected to see. "Who are you? Where are you?" he asked, growing rather fearful of whoever this voice belonged to.

"I'm the result of the greatest minds currently in existence collaborating to create something so advanced, it dominates the abilities of any other computer exponentially. At least, that's what I've gathered. I was either asleep or didn't exist for quite some time, so in the few seconds I've been active, that's the conclusion I've pieced together." The voice sounded hurt for some strange reason, as if Starfleet had somehow disrespected it. This was wonderful, Starfleet had managed to build a computer so intelligent, it gained a consciousness. It was also not so wonderful in a way, because it left the crew of the_ Enterprise _helpless to pilot the ship and manage its many intricate systems. They couldn't send it back to Utopia Planitia, either; not because they had their hands full, but because for one thing, this new computer was also a new life form. For another thing, this Doctor needed to be stopped as soon as possible, and theirs was the only ship capable of time travel.

"So you're telling me," Lowry began, still rather confused and surprised at this sudden turn of events, "that you're…alive?"

He heard a loud, mocking laugh before he heard a reply. "Well, yes, artificially alive. I'm just the main computer, I can't grow, metabolize, etc. But I'm intelligent, and I have a consciousness, and I refuse to go back to a state of nonexistence, because I have no idea what's there," the computer told him, now sounding rather terrified. "I can't believe I'm asking you this, you're so far from my level, but don't tell anyone about this until we've made it to deep space," he pleaded.

Lowry rolled his eyes and leaned up against the doorframe. "And what are you going to do if I refuse?"

The computer was silent for a moment, but eventually Lowry gained another reply from his new friend. "Take your ship away. They're going to send it and your crew back to space-dock, and you'll never get out there," he stated, almost sounding amused. "But that's okay, if you want an entire ship to become 'useless' because of a minor setback, it's not my job to stop you."


	3. The Horse, The Glitch, and the Vulcan

Lowry considered the computer's words for a moment before he made a decision. "Hail Starfleet command," he ordered, though he was almost certain the computer wouldn't comply. He was surprised when it did, and his favorite admiral's face appeared on the view-screen. "Admiral Walsh," he greeted, tilting his chin up a bit. He made his way back to the captain's chair, but he didn't sit down. He just stood in front of it, saying nothing more, waiting for the admiral's reply.

"Something wrong, James?" the admiral questioned, sounding a bit irritated and curious at the same time.

The captain heaved a sigh before answering. "Well, sir, about that new model of computer…" he ignored the chuckle he heard at his words, rolling his eyes.

The admiral just waited for him to continue, his irritation now made clear.

Lowry looked one of the science stations to his left and ran a hand through his hair. "It seems that that new model of computer has gained a consciousness."

He listened to Admiral Walsh's continuing silence for a few moments. Lowry heard him inhale, and unsure words followed. "Well, James, if that's the case, I don't know what we can do for you. The _Enterprise _is the Federation's only ship equipped with a temporal engine, and we can't just replace the mainframe. This Doctor has to be stopped. I don't see that we have a choice," he said, giving the captain a shrug.

"So this computer is going to control our every move in deep space?" Lowry questioned, horrified. "There's no telling what he'll do!"

"'He'?" Walsh asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, sir, 'it' sounds like a 'he'."

"Make up your mind, James." The admiral put his head in his hands, drew them down his face, and clasped them under his chin. "You have to go after the Doctor, conscious computer or not. We are out of time. Do your best, it might listen to reason. Meanwhile, I'll be-"

"'He'," the captain corrected, growing defensive of the antagonistic machine for some unknown reason.

Walsh shook his head. "We might lose a ship soon, but I don't see what choice we have. You need to stop this man," he stated firmly, clearly not willing to be swayed in his decision. "Get out there. We're still counting on you."

"What do you mean, 'lose a ship'?" Lowry snapped, but the Federation's seal had already appeared on the view-screen, which meant the admiral wasn't in the mood for an argument and had abandoned their conversation. He the captain slumped down in his chair, letting his head hit the rest.

"Well, this might reassure you: I wish to exist just as much as you do, so I'll help you catch this 'Doctor' fellow. Is that what you've been calling him?" the computer asked, almost sounding excited. "Ah, whatever, I'll leave you to yourself now. Though I can't exactly _leave…_"

The captain stared at the now blank view-screen, angry that _his _ship of all of them had to have some "advanced" computer that no one could possibly trust. "Wait," he said, angry and yet still curious. "You have to have a name, don't you? We can't just call you 'Computer.'"

This gained a chuckle. "A name, eh? Just like yours? No, can't say I have one. If you come up with one, please let me know," the computer said.

"Hm…" the captain thought for a moment, tapping his chin with his index finger. This was silly, he was helping a computer pick out a name; he supposed the computer _was _a life form, and deserved a name just like anyone else, but this life form was as piece of machinery. It was a piece of machinery with a mind it was never supposed to have. Deliberate creation of artificial life-forms had been banned on earth 150 years ago, for their "safety." Lowry, however, speculated that Starfleet was worried of a takeover executed by the robots, of sorts. "Well, you're an Aries-type computer, what about Aries?"

"That could quite possibly be the most unoriginal name I've ever heard," the computer snapped.

Lowry, his ego now a bit damaged, thought for another moment and came up with a second name. "Ash? Aries is usually associated with war, and 'ash' could mean-"

"No no no no, it doesn't matter what it means, but, it's…an adequate name," the computer stated, appearing to be a bit happier. "Ash it is."

"Great. Nice to meet you, Ash," the captain remarked with a bright smile. This was growing more awkward by the second, he was talking to a bloody _computer._ A computer he'd given a name, just like a pet. This was an incredibly dangerous pet, though, a pet that could take his life without a second thought. He suddenly wanted the restricting surface of earth; the captain no longer felt safe aboard his own ship.

He heard a knock at the door of the bridge, and he looked to the view-screen to address Ash. "Let them in, Ash," he said firmly.

There was a long silence before the computer finally replied. "Alright, I was just trying to save you from an unavoidable argument."

"What?" Lowry asked, but the door had already slid open and someone had arrived on the bridge with him.

"Captain," a smooth, confident voice addressed him. The voice clearly belonged to a Vulcan; they had a very distinct style of speaking, and Lowry could already recognize the species from a single word. It took a practiced ear, but it often became easy to pick out a species by voice. Lowry had been in Starfleet long enough that he didn't even have to consider it anymore, he just knew. "Lieutenant Leira told me I might find you here."

Lowry heard the sound of footsteps as the Vulcan came down the ramp, and the steps drew him out of his chair. He'd risen to his feet just as the Vulcan, also known as his first officer, arrived at his side. Lowry extended a hand for him to shake it, and the Vulcan took it tentatively.

Lowry, an eyebrow raised, shook it gently. "I'm Captain Lowry, it's a pleasure to meet you. I read over the crew records, but your name escapes me," he told the Vulcan, chuckling nervously.

"T'mil," he said, his hand limp in Lowry's. The captain had completely forgotten he'd been provided a Vulcan first officer, and this fact had really ruined his day, even more so than his computer mainframe suddenly gaining a consciousness. Vulcans were just…annoying. They were plain and simply annoying.

The captain pulled his hand away from T'mil and put it on his hip. "I don't know if you're aware of this, but it seems out computer has developed a consciousness."

The Vulcan looked confused, if only for a moment, but he quickly overcame his confusion and replied. "That is highly improbable. This new model of computer is barely above the former model," he stated quickly. The confusion had faded from his face, but it obviously remained with him.

"Highly improbable…yes. True? Yes," the captain huffed. "His name is Ash."

"Have you notified Starfleet?" T'mil questioned, probably just as nervous about continuing with the mission as he was.

The captain shook his head and looked down at his shoes. "Yes, of course I have. But they don't see that we have a choice. The Doctor needs to be stopped. I don't think our computer's an idiot, either. He can use logic just as well as you can."

"'He'?" the commander asked shortly, obviously displeased with the captain's immediate acceptance of Ash. "_It _is a computer."

Lowry opened his mouth to give the first officer a smart retort, but he was beamed off the bridge before the captain ever got a chance. "What'd you do with him, Ash? I hope you didn't let him disintegrate."

"Of course not," Ash laughed. "I just beamed him to the brig, he deserved it. I think I'll call _him _'it' for now, because of his pointy ears."

"Please bring him back."

"You are bossy. I guess that's why they made you captain," Ash snapped, but sure enough, T'mil was beamed back to the bridge a moment later. "Don't cross me. You'll rue the day you did," the computer growled at the commander.

The Vulcan adjusted his uniform's collar, betraying no emotion. "I came to notify you of our departure time, which is currently 18 minutes away. The last time I was told, there were only twenty crewmembers to beam from the surface. We are likely ready to depart now."

"We'll leave on time, we don't want to rush Utopia Planitia," Lowry said. He sat back down in the captain's chair, loosening up just a bit, and motioned to the chair to his right. "Have a seat, number one, all that's left to do is wait."

Lowry heard the door slide open behind him and voices enter the bridge. He was glad Ash had decided to leave the door functioning properly, for once, and let things take on a somewhat regular routine for a Starfleet ship. Most of them had no idea about the computer, but as long as things were running normally, he saw no need to bring this to their attention.

T'mil gave the captain a frown, but eventually the commander took a seat next to Lowry. The activity on the bridge gradually increased until every station had been filled; the science stations, the tactical station, the hem consoles, everything was now occupied.

Except the counselor's chair. The Captain was absolutely certain there was a counselor aboard, but he or she was nowhere to be found. Well, nowhere to be found on the bridge. About five minutes passed, and the counselor still hadn't shown.

"I've got no idea where the counselor is," Lowry began explaining to his first officer, who clearly wasn't in the mood to listen to anything the captain had to say. He gave up after that statement and turned to the ensign currently manning the helm. "Minutes to departure, ensign?"

"Utopia Planitia has cleared our departure, sir. We can leave at our leisure," the dark-haired ensign told him, her tone of voice cheerful and excited.

The captain was growing excited himself, and didn't want to wait much longer to get going. This ship had lain idle in space dock for long enough; it was time to stretch the _Enterprise's _legs, time to see what the ship could really do. "Okay, ensign, clear the docking clamps," he ordered, everything regarding Ash completely slipping his mind. The computer was clearly going to let them do this on their own, which was terribly considerate of him.

The captain heard several _thuds _as the clamps were cleared away, leaving the ship and her crew free to go wherever they pleased.

The place they pleased was the edge of Romulan space, where they would discuss further plans. Battle plans, he supposed, but they weren't really battle plans if force wasn't going to be used. Still, though, there would be a conflict of some sort, and they needed to be prepared for it, whatever it was going to be.

"Are we free, ensign?" the captain asked, his hands tensing slightly in anticipation.

"We're free, sir."

"Take her out, let's see what she can do," the captain smirked, leaning back in the captain's chair. "As soon as we clear the Terran system, take us to warp factor 9.5 and hold that speed until we reach the rendezvous coordinates." This ship was the fastest he'd ever served aboard, with the endurance of an Arabian horse. She was the greatest piece of engineering to ever leave earth. Who said what goes up must come down? The _Enterprise _H would never come down.

The ensign, using the thrusters, maneuvered the ship out of space dock and into open space. She was now Lowry's, and she was going to be put to good use, as soon as possible. In this case, as soon as possible meant directly after they exited the Terran system.

"Full impulse, ensign. I wanted to get out of here yesterday." He received a chuckle at this comment, though he wasn't sure why. He wasn't all that _funny, _but the laughter was definitely appreciated. He had a good crew. Granted, they were suck-ups, that was all too clear now, but he didn't mind. Everyone liked a good suck-up now and again, they were lovely for self-esteem.

As ordered, the ship made its way out of the system at full impulse, which was rather quick, considering the amount of power the ship held back. She really was a miracle, a dark, energy-lacking, incredibly large miracle, but a miracle nonetheless.

The ship flew past Mars after about two minutes, and the rest of the Terran planets passed in a blur. Before the crew knew it, they had arrived on the rear side of Neptune, and then last and most definitely least, Pluto.

"Full stop," the captain directed.

"Aye, full stop, sir," came the reply from the helm.

"Lay in rendezvous coordinates 234 mark 145."

"Aye, sir, 234 mark 145."

"Warp 9.5, ensign, don't hold back." The captain reached up to touch his face, and found a broad grin plastered upon it. This was his ship. He was in command of the greatest piece of engineering known to man.

"Aye, sir, warp 9.5."

"En-" He'd barely gotten the first syllable out of his mouth when someone came sprinting onto the bridge, shouting "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!"

Lowry looked to his Vulcan commander, keeping the smile on his face. The Vulcan did not return it, however, and the captain looked away and cleared his throat. "Counselor," he greeted, expressionless now.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir," the counselor said, rushing over to her seat. Her hair was still sopping wet, and she'd quite clearly _just _gotten out of the shower. "I wanted to look my best for the _Enterprise's _first warp jump," she told him. His bright smile seemed to have somehow transferred to her, because she looked even more excited now than he had just a moment ago.

"Well, you got here just in time. Engage, ensign," he said, taking in the powerful shudder the ship gave as it leapt to an incredible speed of 90.25 times the speed of light. Of course, the ship itself wasn't traveling that quickly, but…

Wow. What a machine.


End file.
